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Will it damage the transmission?

Well, my parking brake assemblies are deemed shot y my mechanic- he said not to use them until I have a $1000 repair to have them replaced. My question is, for now- am I okay to park the truck on a hill without the parking brake? Will the transmission/components be damaged by the "hill lock" in the transmission?

Well, my parking brake assemblies are deemed shot y my mechanic- he said not to use them until I have a $1000 repair to have them replaced. My question is, for now- am I okay to park the truck on a hill without the parking brake? Will the transmission/components be damaged by the "hill lock" in the transmission?

It's a good idea to use that emergence brake occasionally just to keep it from rusting up in case you need to use it .... I use mine all the time !!! It will help keep pressure off the park pin and make it easier to shift out of park if some pressure is against it .....Place in park keep foot on brake pedal engage parking brake all done very simple !!!!

While it won't hurt your tranny to not use the e-brake when parking on an incline, you're not doing it any favors either. The big thing you get out of it is it can be a royal pain to shift out of park when you've got your vehicle's weight on the parking pin. If possible, when you park you might want to crank your steering all the way to the right and let your truck roll to the curb and let your front tire take some of the weight.

I agree with everyone else here, you need to find a new mechanic or DIY your brakes. I've had any number of places tell me the brakes were totally shot on any number of cars I've owned in the past only to find out they were either incompetent or flat out lying. My 94 Taurus SHO needed new back rotors and pads and the dealer wanted about $1500 to do the job because they said both rear calipers were frozen tight and the parking brake was part of the caliper so they would have to replace the entire parking brake system right up to the foot pedal along with the calipers, rotors, pads, bearings and pretty mcuh everythign else they could find...even tried to prevent me from driving the car because it wasn't road worth and dangerous, etc. Turns out the pistons on the rear calipers have to be rotated as you compress the piston for it to go in...but apparently the Ford mechanic didn't know this. I put new rotors and pads on there for about $60 and a couple hours of my time...I bet you've got a similar situation unless your cables are all rusted to hell.

I had to do the emergancy kit on my 2001 GMC. Its that much cause its all labor, the rear axles have to come out to get the kit on. It was about an 800 dollar bill for me too. In MA you have to have the e brake cause they check it on inspections. So I paid up. Wasnt gonna do it myself in the middle of winter.

I had to do the emergancy kit on my 2001 GMC. Its that much cause its all labor, the rear axles have to come out to get the kit on. It was about an 800 dollar bill for me too. In MA you have to have the e brake cause they check it on inspections. So I paid up. Wasnt gonna do it myself in the middle of winter.

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That was my suspicion. I would presume that price is a complete brake job with new shoes, drums, hardware, cables, and new diff lube. It's not an extremely difficult job if you're used to doing your own work. If not, you could probably shop around and get a better price. For example, I have a friend that has done some work for me in the past. I buy the parts, and he works for $25 an hour. You might trim a couple hundred off the job that way. And you might not need new drums. You don't really know till you get in there. You may get by with just turning them, or even doing nothing at all. There's another 2 or 3 hundred saved.

make friends with a real good mechanic and be prepaired to pay cash. It usually can save you 25-50% on most work that doesn't involve really expensive parts. Its called side work. They love it and you save money. If you were in VA I could hook you up with some good people here.

With that said, unless the cables are locked up you can probably pull the rears and free everything up pretty easily.

IMHO using the ebrake regularly insures it works every year when you go in for inspection. If you don't use it they will seize up. Think about the surface rust you see on the rotors after it rains, and multipy it by 365. One stop from 5 mph and that one day of rust is gone. It might take a while if they rust for a couple months.

I bet half the trucks in this country don't have working parking brakes.

Speaking of price. My Wife has a part time job at a Ford dealership as the night cashier.
She sends me a text message: " I can not believe some idiot paid $800 for a front brake job on a Ford Focus ! I am a female and I know that's WAY HIGH for that job"

Just a tip that I've found helps in removing the rear rotors off of the 2500hd's is to apply the e-brake alittle bit and drive for a few miles. It will loosen up some off the rust and junk off the shoes in the center the rotor. And if the cable does stick then you are on your way to work on them anyhow.